An automation system for controlling the behavior of an environment in response to certain events.
Currently, automation systems which are used to control the behavior of an environment such as a home or office building are programmed using either a simple command language or using a graphical user interface that requires a computer with a monitor. These systems are expensive and require substantial investment by the user in time and energy to install and modify programming. Generally to make changes in existing programs of such systems a user must consult a user""s manual or call a programming specialist. The overall utility of the automation system is drastically reduced because the user finds it difficult to adapt the system to changing needs or to make additions, deletions or modifications to the programs resident in such systems.
Home automation systems, or home management systems as they are sometimes called, commonly provide for control of lighting, heating and air conditioning, window shades or curtains, pool heaters and filtration systems, lawn sprinklers, ornamental fountains, audio/visual equipment, and other appliances. Home automation systems are frequently integrated with a home security system so that when a fire alarm is raised, for example, internal and external lights will be turned on. Security systems frequently include lighting control and other types of home automation as an option. Many larger homes incorporate a home theater which requires a certain amount of automation for convenient operation and this automation is often extended to other parts of the dwelling. In farms, the automation system will also control outbuilding heating and lighting and warn of off normal conditions in automated feeding machinery and the like.
One form of automation system includes a central control unit that monitors environmental sensors and inputs from user controls and maintains a schedule of pre-programmed time-of-day and day-of-the week events. Inputs to the central control are provided by dedicated low-voltage wiring, for example, from door and window sensors, signals carried on power lines, RF signals, signals on existing telephone wiring and, occasionally, optical signals. The central control unit is controlled by a program that is either specifically built for the particular installation or a general-purpose program with a user interface that allows the owner or a technician employed by the owner to make certain types of modifications. The interfaces to these programs can be anything from strings of digits entered on standard touch-tone keypads, for example, Home Automation Inc.""s Omni Automation and Security System, to graphical user interfaces, for example, the Molex xe2x80x9cChoicesxe2x80x9d software.
While the graphical user interfaces can be relatively easy to use, they require the presence in the home of a personal computer and often require the system owner to purchase additional hardware and software. Systems that rely on touch tone keypads for input and one- and two-line LCD for display are less expensive, but generally require the user to remember or, more likely, lookup arbitrary commands.
The Echelon Corporation has built home automation and industrial control apparatus based on a signaling protocol they refer to as LonWorks that uses a network of nodes each of which has one or more microprocessors. The system is designed to operate in a xe2x80x9ccooperative computingxe2x80x9d environment in which the individual nodes maintain their own programs. Programming of the individual nodes can be done by downloading new software from a temporarily attached lap top computer or by downloading software over the LonWorks network. A similar approach has been taken by CEBus and has been used in many custom installations for larger homes and office buildings.
While such systems eliminate the central control unit, modifying the software still requires the use of a PC-based system and usually requires the user to acquire relatively expensive hardware and software and become proficient in the use of PC-based software.
It is thus desirable to provide an automation system that is inexpensive, easily installed, and easily programmable and reprogrammable. It is also desirable to provide a home automation system that can be programmed and reprogrammed by a user having little or no knowledge or experience in programming. It is also desirable to provide an automation system that allows the incorporation of new and different, appliances and controllers without the system becoming obsolete.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of programming at least one appliance to change state upon the occurrence of a trigger event. The method includes the steps of providing at least one programmable devices coupled to the at least one appliance, providing a programmable controller coupled to the programmable device where the programmable controller and programmable device communicate with one another. The programmable controller has a training mode which, when selected, allows the at least one programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event. The user places the programmable controller in training mode, provides a trigger event, and changes the state of the first appliance from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state. The user then takes the programmable controller out of training mode so that the first appliance is now programmed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the first appliance will change states from its unprogrammed state to its programmed state.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a system of programming at least one appliance. The system includes a programmable device coupled to at least a first appliance where the programmable device detects the state of the first appliance, and a programmable controller coupled to and communicating with the programmable device over a communication link. The programmable controller has a training mode which, when selected, allows the programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event. When the programmable controller is put in the training mode and a trigger event occurs, and the state of the first appliance is changed and the programmable controller is taken out of the training mode, the first appliance will change to its programmed state upon the next occurrence of the trigger event.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for programming a home automation system. The method includes the steps of providing programmable devices located throughout a home. Each programmable device is coupled to an appliance and each programmable device can detect the state of the appliance coupled to it. Providing a programmable controller located in the home and coupled to the programmable devices by a communication link. The programmable controller has a training mode which, when selected, allows selected programmable devices to be programmed to change the state of the appliance connected thereto. Programming selected appliances to change from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state by placing selected appliances in their respective unprogrammed state, placing the programmable controller in the training mode, providing a trigger event, changing the states of selected appliances from their unprogrammed state to their programmed state and taking the programmable controller out of the training mode. The home is now programmed so that the next occurrence of the trigger event will cause the selected appliances to change from their unprogrammed states to their programmed states.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of programming at least one appliance. The method includes the steps of providing a programmable controller coupled by a communication link to the at least one appliance, placing the programmable controller in the training mode, broadcasting a trigger event over the communication link wherein the trigger event is received and stored by the programmable controller, changing the state of the at least one appliance from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state, deleting the change of state of the at least one appliance, broadcasting a message over the communication link indicating that the programmed state of the at least one appliance wherein the message is received and stored by the programmable controller, and taking the programmable device out of the training mode. The at least one appliance is programmed to go to its programmed state upon the occurrence of the trigger event.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for automating an environment. The method includes the steps of providing programmable device coupled to a communication link, providing a programmable controller having memory, wherein the programmable controller is coupled to the communication link wherein the programmable controller and programmable device communicate with one another over the communication link, providing a trigger device coupled to the communication link wherein the trigger device and programmable controller communicate with one another, placing the programmable controller in a training mode, activating the trigger device to generate a trigger signal, storing the trigger signal in the memory of the programmable control, placing the programmable device in a desired state, broadcasting a message that the programmable device is in the desired state, storing the message in the memory of the programmable controller, taking the programmable controller out of the training mode, monitoring the communication link for the trigger event, detecting the trigger event, and broadcasting a control signal over the communication link to the programmable device to change to its desired state.